Arachne
Neutral 
I didn't think I'd make it... And I was right. Again.
Posts: 41 
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Post by Arachne on Mar 17, 2017 22:49:01 GMT -5
No, despite its size, Jessica’s living quarters weren’t as nicely decorated as Alexis’. They were a bit spartan looking, actually, and that was only partially by design. She hadn’t had many things growing up in Madripoor. In fact, much of the furniture in her childhood home had belonged to her ‘aunt’ Seraph. When the war came to pass, much of her toys and belongs were left behind. There really wasn’t a place for them and a fourteen year old should be more concerned with other things. That combined with the many times she had the change bases with HYDRA taught Jessica to pack light and keep only what was necessary. For the most part that meant books and a few pictures, as well as some clothes, but not much else. Before her time with Doom, when HYDRA had taken cities, she would sometimes sneak out to explore the abandoned buildings and bring back small knick-knacks she had discovered. Since Doom, however, those items were long gone. Her mother tried to provide her with nice things, which Jessica accepted, but she worried that they would be left behind when they next moved.
The knock at her door… to say it was a total surprise would have been a lie. She had heard her mother’s voice and footsteps from down the hall. She wasn’t alone, and by the way she was talking, there was likely an important guest with her, though just who it could be, Jessica wasn’t sure. HYDRA didn’t have many visitors.
Setting her book down, Jessica answered the door, trying to keep a sense of professionalism around her, however that likely faltered upon seeing Viper holding Alexis. A pang of sadness, guilt, and jealous hit her hard as she looked at the two. Alexis had come to HYDRA not long after Jessica’s ordeal with Doom. She had never outright said it, but seeing her mother with the child made Jessica feel like she was being replaced or that Viper was trying to start things over with a daughter who obeyed all of her commands and wasn’t a failure. For that, Jessica resented the girl and didn’t like being called her sister. They weren’t blood related and looked nothing alike, which made her glad. Jessica’s gaze then slid over to the figure standing beside her mother. Upon realizing who it was, she took a step back in surprise.
Jessica had never met Kroenen, not properly at least. She had only ever seen him from a distance and very rarely, but even that was enough to have his image etched in her mind. She had been told he was a crazed scientist that enjoyed experimentation, both on himself and others, and her first sight of him when she arrived in Europe did nothing the dissuade that rumor. It had been night time and rain fell in fat and heavy drops as lighting and thunder crack loudly overhead. He was standing with the other officers as Viper and her daughter arrived, though unlike them, he did not seek out safety beneath umbrellas. He simply let the rain hit him full on, leather trench coat flapping in the wind, looking ominous in his gas mask. He still looked just as ominous, but with one problem. “You should be dead,” she spoke without thinking. That was also what the rumors had stated.
How was he alive? Why was he standing with Viper and the child? Almost instantly a sense of dread hit Jessica as she instinctively worried over her status as an experiment. What was going on?
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Post by Kroenen on Mar 22, 2017 22:52:36 GMT -5
Taking in the room in its entirety, Kroenen made several observations which stemmed from its sparse contents. The lack of general clutter or of terribly many things within the room led him to know something about her mind: she was perhaps attempting to hold onto only the few things which mattered to her. What those were, he could not guess, save for the Madripoor furnishings which he recognized by design. Compounded with the look that she gave to Madame HYDRA and the young girl beside him spoke volumes. He recalled seeing her when she had come with her mother on only one occasion, but he had been busy in his duties and had not been properly introduced.
The book she read was And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, which led him to assume for the time being that she was given to separating herself from the now. Kroenen found fiction to be useless in most instances.
"Perhaps so, Agent Drew," Kroenen said as he clicked the heels of his boots together and saluted her, "But I have many more tasks to tend to before I see myself fit to die."
This was true enough. While he could not die as such, and did not feel compelled to explain how or why, Kroenen did see himself as having an ever increasing list of duties before he succumbed to the beyond. But he had tasted it now, after being frozen. Still, he kept his mind in the now. As was his duty.
"Your sister and yourself," he said carefully, leaning on the term for the child to see how Subject 1 reacted, "Have been remanded to my care. I am Doktor Karl Ruprecht Kroenen. Would you prefer Agent Drew or Operative Arachne when I address you?"
He didn't particularly care which she preferred. She was Subject 1. But a mask of pleasantness to counter his former treatment of Subject 2's insolent behavior could prove something from both of them. Useful? Perhaps not. But something.
His head ticked to the side for a moment, his neck making a disgusting cracking sound as it moved like a fly's broken wing before he righted it up again.
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Arachne
Neutral
I didn't think I'd make it... And I was right. Again.
Posts: 41
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Post by Arachne on Mar 25, 2017 12:20:04 GMT -5
The salute was off-putting. She wasn’t used to having that sort of formality directed towards her. “To busy to die? Of course.” That was all she could manage to say without getting some needed fire from both him and her mother. If she didn’t have to worry about her comments, Jessica would have simply stated that not even Hell wanted to keep him. She briefly wondered if the same would apply for Victor Von Doom.
Despite wearing a mask that kept his eyes from being seen, Jessica still had an idea of where Kroenen was looking. His movements and mannerisms were very deliberate, so it wasn’t exactly hard to guess that he was inspecting her room. “How about you ask before looking around in other people's bedrooms? It's rude when you don't have permission to do so,” she told him, slamming her palm against the door frame. She knew better than to lay a hand on him, not only due to the fact that her mother was standing right there, but also because who knew what manner off weaponry Kroenen had on his person. Jessica remembered people talking about how fast he was and his preference for wielding blades.
Upon hearing that this… thing was now caring for her, Jessica’s jaw dropped and she stared at her mother in disbelief. “No. No! I am not letting this thing touch me, mama!” That last word was a clear indication of how upset she was. Normally, Jessica would never have called Viper ‘mama’ while in public or in front of her peers, it just wasn’t right. But then again, neither was putting your sole child under the care of a psychotic doctor that enjoyed experimentation. “You are not to address me, period. I am not yours. I am not your little toy or a plaything to be poked and prodded,” she told Kroenen before looking back at Viper. “You said no more tests. Only field work and blood samples. What the hell is this then?” A small snapping sound could be heard as her grip on the door frame tightened.
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Post by BabyDoll on Mar 29, 2017 1:22:21 GMT -5
Alexis wrapped her arms more securely around Viper's shoulders as Jessica became more agitated. If there was one person Alexis never liked to mess with, it was her older sister. Expecting something to upset her older sister, Alexis had one of her smaller dolls begin the trek to her room. The sound of the door frame snapping causing her to tense for a split second, as the doll finally arrived at her Mother's feet.
Looking up to Arachne from its place on the ground the doll spoke in a wisp of Alexis' voice "Sister, please calm down... I am not pleased with this either... But Mother has finalized her thoughts on this matter." The doll lightly uses its small clothed foot to trace circles into the floor, expressing much of Alexis' current emotions in this setting. "Perhaps you will still only have bloodwork done... If it puts you at ease it is only to better understand and monitor our powers and gifts...." Giving a small smile Alexis hoped her reassurance would work with her sister this once, though something in the back of her mind prickled with a warning that this could merely make the situation much worse.
This wouldn't do much really, her own actions already caused their mother to be upset. No one needed her to be upset yet again for another of her children. Though again with this it might just seem like the more her mother tries the more things just become stressful... she's getting off track again. Funny how a mind that's ever wondering can drift from thought to thought so easily. What was she doing again? Oh yes, her sister.
Alexis glazed over blank expression snapped back to focus, it being plainly evident that she once again had wandered off in thought. Her facial expression trying and failing to express that she was paying attention to anything that had happened.
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Post by Madame HYDRA on Apr 1, 2017 20:45:55 GMT -5
Of course her daughter would react this way. Viper had kind of anticipated it. Jessica was never good around scientists and ... well, Kroenen was definitely a scientist. She sighed and looked at Jessica, idly brushing a lock of hair out of Alexis' face. "I thought I told you, I would prefer you at least speak to me and your sister yourself, not through your dolls," she said. "Now hush. Let mother talk, and don't assume things." Oh how she wished Alexis had just let her handle things instead of trying to help.
Still, she did want to comfort her eldest, and she didn't want to give the impression that Kroenen was there to experiment on her. That's not what she intended at all. "I meant it, too," she answered, after a moment's silence. "Field work and blood samples. But now Kroenen will oversee your development. All I ask is that you subject yourself to two more weeks of controlled exercises for his notes. Just in case he can see something that we might not have." The odds of that were slim, but she trusted Kroenen not to overwork her daughter. And if he couldn't do it in two weeks, he just didn't get the data. That was the end of it.
She put a hand on Jessica's shoulder reassuringly and looked her in the eye. "Believe me, I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't think he could help us understand your condition a little better." She looked back at Kroenen, her tone more serious. "We will go over the details of what is allowed. She is, after all, my top agent before she is your test subject."
She chose not to dwell too much on the fact that it was her daughter at stake. Not because she didn't care, which she would hope would be well known. It was more to spare the risk of coming across as weak in front of one of her former colleagues. Kroenen didn't care about much, apart from his work and his orders. She doubted he'd care that she loved her daughter. But for a leader to think of an agent as anything less than a perfect soldier could be weakness. In this time of war, that could hardly be acceptable.
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Post by Kroenen on Apr 1, 2017 20:57:45 GMT -5
Not much vexed Kroenen. Not much at all. But having no detailed knowledge of Arachne's capabilities caused some small degree of alarm and...even excitement when he noted that she had caused a slight warp in the door. His round, black lenses in his gas mask turned toward Arachne as he appraised her.
How very curious indeed.
When the smaller child spoke, Kroenen made note of her tone. It seemed guarded and intentionally reassuring. So they really did feel as though they were sisters. Curious. That could be used to his advantage during some of the tests he had turning over in his mind.
And then Madame HYDRA, knowing him as she did, gave him strict orders not to regard Arachne as he typically did his other patience he sought to perfect. He stood up to his full height and clicked the heels of his tall boots together, nodding and facing straight ahead.
"Of course, Madame." he said curtly, looking back down at Arachne, "On official documentation you shall be referred to as Subject 1. Therefore, perhaps it may be simplest to address you as such. And you have not offered a preference. Subject 1."
There he went with his mind game again, curious what else this girl would do. She did not frighten him, of course. Nothing frightened him. No one. But it was important in any introduction to find the buttons one might press in a given conversation to make note of them for later.
"I shall comply with your mother's wishes," he growled to Arachne, then looked back to Alexis, running a gloved hand slowly over the child's head, "Neither of you shall come to harm."
He stated this as a fact, because it was. If Kroenen were tasked with their deaths, they would be exactly that and with minimal bloodloss. But he was tasked with their care, and so they would receive the best. He could adjust his methods as needed to be less...invasive than his preferred. But that was not a problem for him. Kroenen thrived, after all, on orders and tasks. It was only when he had no orders to fulfill and no tasks to complete that he would succumb to a kind of madness.
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Arachne
Neutral
I didn't think I'd make it... And I was right. Again.
Posts: 41
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Post by Arachne on Apr 2, 2017 13:47:16 GMT -5
Jessica didn’t answer Alexis when she spoke. She didn’t even really look at the girl. Instead, she kept her head down, intently staring at the floor and, when it came into view, the small cloth doll that Alexis spoke through. She hated to be called her sister. She hated it and she barely accepted it. Then she had to make the issue worse and call the abilities that Jessica had ‘gifts’. Of course Alexis would call her own powers ‘gifts’, after all, she could control toys, and what child wouldn’t want that ability? But for Jessica? Her powers came through torture and experimentation at the hands of a madman bent on making her a slave or a super-weapon. She was something deadly and she never asked to be that.
Viper’s voice was the only thing that kept her from doing something drastic, like punting that doll down the hall and slamming her door like some petulant child. At her mother’s touch, she looked up and met her eyes. “You think he can learn something in two weeks what other HYDRA scientists couldn’t in four years?” She asked the question softly, almost thinking that this was a joke, the Kroenen was actually here to remove these abilities and they were waiting to surprise Jessica with such news. But, that was clearly not the case. After a long moment of silent consideration, mainly so that Jessica wouldn’t say anything uncouth or allow loopholes to be worked into the agreement, she nodded. “Two weeks. that’s all. After that, I come to you to see what has or hasn’t been learned. If the two of us agree that progress is being made, it continues for another two weeks. And so on, and so on. If I feel uncomfortable under his….. supervision…. I can come to you and request that it ends immediately. Agreed?” Jessica thought that this request was fairly reasonable to ask of her mother. She also thought that she was keeping a fairly level head. Until Kroenen spoke up once more.
“Wángbādàn!” she yelled. Swearing in Mandarin was not a thing Jessica did often, it being a habit that she had picked up from Seraph, which her mother severely disapproved of. ‘Aunt’ Seraph taught Jessica a lot of things while Viper was out on a contract. “Don’t you dare call me Subject 1!” she growled back. “You have no right to call me Subject, Experiment, Guinea Pig, Participant, Volunteer, or give me any sort of numeral designation! You will address me as Agent Arachne or I will find out just how sturdy that mask is. Is that understood?” Doom had treated her the same. He would occasionally call her ‘copil’, child, but more frequently, she was a number, and Jessica never wanted to be a number ever again. Her rage and those memories caused her hand gripping the door frame to glow a sickly greenish-yellow, her venom blasts priming itself due to her emotional reaction. It was quickly noticed by her and the glow vanished. “I’m sorry, mama,” she offered softly as an apology.
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Post by Madame HYDRA on Apr 13, 2017 22:48:05 GMT -5
Well, at least Jessica was open to the idea. That was a step in the right direction, considering where they came from. Viper affectionately touched her forehead to her daughter's and managed a small smile. "Two weeks, and we'll see what happens from there," she repeated. "I can live with those terms. All of it." And she meant it. There was no hint of deception in her voice at all, which was rare to come by these days. "Kroenen is the most brilliant scientist I've ever met, and I was lucky enough to work with him during the war. If anyone can learn more about your condition, he can." It had crossed her mind that there might be a way to reverse Jessica's condition, but the more she looked into it in private, the more fruitless the search became. It broke her heart to admit, but Doom's damage was permanent until she found another breakthrough. She just didn't have the heart to tell that to her daughter.
She was lurched from her thoughts by Kroenen's statement and Jessica's subsequent Mandarin swearing. "Jessica!" She had always hated that Seraph had taught Jessica such words while they were in Madripoor, but there wasn't much she could have done to prevent it, save perhaps for being home more.
When Jessica had her say, Viper nodded in agreement, looking at Kroenen with a half apologetic look for the outburst. "She will be referred to as Agent Drew or Agent Arachne. I will not permit her to be referred to as a number." She rubbed her daughter's back, hoping to show her that she was on her side. She knew the reason behind the outburst, and she didn't blame her. There was no need for apologies. Things were changing, and there needed to be some readjustment. That was all. She softly kissed Jessica's forehead, something she rarely did in front of anyone anymore, and smiled a little easier at her. "We can talk about this more later. If you'd like. We can take dinner in my office. Just the two of us. For now, I would like to show Kroenen around the base a little more while we go over some details of this arrangement."
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Post by Kroenen on May 1, 2017 17:27:58 GMT -5
Kroenen stood swiftly and dutifully at attention when Madame HYDRA spoke to him and nodded in reply.
"Yes, Madame." he said, looking back down at her daughter, "I apologize, Agent Arachne."
He did not care. He did not apologize genuinely. But it was required of him. Kroenen required orders and he must follow them. It was unsuitable for him not to, that would make for an imperfect soldier.
Scientist. Man. Being of any sort.
And that would not do.
He considered the girl again for a moment.
"Testing will be minimal and at your mother's order," he continued in his garbled German, looking back at the younger Babydoll, "If I am to fulfill my role it is required."
This was true. Kroenen never lied. That would be useless. Besides, his truths tended to be even more unpleasant than any lie he could ever conjure.
He turned to the door and stood beside it, awaiting for a further tour of the facility if his mistress wished it. He was curious what the layout of the base might be like, he had been relegated to far too many insufficient laboratories and small bunkers in his time. Offices were his least favorite. There was hardly room to be productive with subjects. Useless.
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Post by BabyDoll on May 9, 2017 23:57:18 GMT -5
Feeling rather reprimanded. Alexis bowed her head as her doll returned to the station she had placed it. Today was not going to be a good day to speak to anyone perhaps. No matter, She'd carry out her personal duty of scanning through the base for any traitors or intruders. "Not like anyone will try to speak to me, not today if anything." she thought solemnly.
It wasn't a fact she didn't know, She knew fully well Jessica did not like being called sister, still she'd hope that one day they could be like sisters. She thought over the words she had used with Jessica, was she really know help at all? Figuring she merely made something worse somehow she kept silent through the conversation.
She was running connection between the dolls of the base till she felt the sensation of her head being touched, snapping her mind back to her psychical body. Her eyes glancing toward Kroenen from their corners. She didn't trust many things or many people. Still, she kept steady beneath his gloved hand as she watched him closely.
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Arachne
Neutral
I didn't think I'd make it... And I was right. Again.
Posts: 41
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Post by Arachne on May 11, 2017 21:42:06 GMT -5
Jessica was surprised. This was the first time in a long while that she was able to successfully negotiate with her mother. She had stopped trying for the past few years, since it normally ended up with her breaking something in frustration or storming out. When she was younger, she could almost always win negotiations with her mother, but then again, Viper likely wanted to please her at every chance she could growing up. Two weeks was something she could do easily. However, Jessica couldn’t help but frown when Viper praised Kroenen for his brilliance. In her own opinion, her mother was superior to the man, but then again, he had his disgusting tendencies of experimenting on people. As far as Jessica knew, her mother did no such thing, which is what made her superior. “If you believe he can make a break through, Madame, that is the only reason I’m agreeing to such things.”
And there was the reprimanding voice she knew and, in her own way, loved. It allowed her a brief smile that was one of triumph and familiarity. If anything, her swearing in Mandarin always brought back the woman she knew as Meriem Drew, her mother. It was just a pity that it had to be something like that.
Three shows of affection from her mother in such a short time? And in front of other people? That was truly a surprise, one that Jessica enjoyed, but still… she was normally never this affectionate towards her. Not in public, at least. Was she worried about something? Concerned briefly showed on Jessica’s face as she tried to discern what was wrong. She knew better than to ask about the cause for such behavior right now. It was one thing for her mother to show small bits of affection or minute signs of weakness, but Jessica knew better than to bring them to attention and delve into their purpose. She could ask later, when they were eating dinner. “I would enjoy the opportunity to dine with you very much, Madame. Thank you.”
Turning to address Kroenen once more, she nodded at him, the anger she had towards this constructed man gone. “Apologies are not needed,” she told him smoothly. “I know from your reputation that you do not enjoy imperfections and mistakes. I trust that incorrectly naming me will not happen again. As for the testing… I have had four years of tests. Whatever you produce for me, I am sure I will be able to handle such things. But that is something which can be discussed later. I will let you get back to touring the facility. I will see you later tonight, mother.” With a second nod, she politely excused herself back into her room, gently shutting the door.
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Post by Madame HYDRA on May 12, 2017 12:43:15 GMT -5
As the door shut, Viper breathed a soft sigh of relief. That could have gone a lot better, but it also could have gone a lot worse. Personally, she was thankful that her daughter was at least open to the idea of continuing the tests in light of their new scientist. It was more than she could have expected, or even hoped for.
She looked at Kroenen, but she couldn't bring herself to smile. She simply glanced at a nearby guard, who swiftly came over and took Alexis out of her arms. "Take her to the science labs. Straight there. Don't allow her to convince you to take any detours, don't play her games, don't let her dolls distract you, and for the love of god, don't let her cause trouble for my scientists again. She is to go straight to her room until further notice." Her tone was enough that the guard stiffened, afraid he might forget something, and nodded. He took the child and disappeared around the corner, back toward the science labs.
Viper, however, led Kroenen the other direction. The further she got from prying eyes, the more tired she looked. She was exhausted, and it was hard for her to even allow her old friend to see it. She breathed a heavy sigh as she reached her office and opened the door.
It was pristine, of course, as would be expected of an officer. Spacious, too, to accomodate the large map table toward the center of the room. The map showed the movements of Doom's troops and of HYDRA's, and it was clear that Doom was closing in on them. Viper leaned against the table and stared at it for a good few moments before shaking her head and moving to her desk.
"HYDRA is a shadow of what it once was," she admitted, walking past her desk to a panel on the wall. She'd had another secret room added behind her desk. The agents that knew about it were dead now, of course, so she had some a sort of sanctuary she could retreat to if she needed to. "Doom's forces get stronger every day, and we can barely find enough recruits to stay on an even keel. We're losing, and I don't admit that easily."
The panel in the wall opened to reveal another spacious room. It looked like another science lab, but there were no scientists. It was all Viper's own work. Mostly blood samples, some chemistry, and piles upon piles of notes. She took a seat at a table and reviewed her notes, looking at Kroenen. "I need a game changer. Something that can turn the tide. So .... I've been experimenting."
Like her old experiments from the war, it looked like. But there were no test subjects.
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Post by Kroenen on May 30, 2017 19:49:28 GMT -5
Kroenen examined the room they were now in as Madame HYDRA spoke.
He was silent, as he tended to be when speaking was not required of him. He always preferred to observe.
Looking through the laboratory, Kroenen briefly skimmed the notes that he came across before he looked back at his mistress.
"Formulas..." he rasped, "Again?"
It was almost disappointing. The Red Skull was but a blot of a memory in the grand scheme of the war, but Viper was seeming to continue working through to the end he sought...if through different means.
"...perhaps you have become your own subject, Madame."
As he moved through the room, he made note that it seemed to be her private endeavor. How curious. Something so very private that she kept it only to herself, notes and secrets included. But then she had just shared them with Kroenen. He wondered why...
"Is that a request?" he asked as he stood slowly at attention before her again, "I will assist you in any manner I can."
It then occurred to him...something he had mentioned to her years ago.
She wanted a game changer....
...he could give it to her.
"...would you give further thought to my proposal?" he asked, tilting his head, "You are undoubtedly within access to unnumbered dead..."
Kroenen wound the mechanism on his chest through his tunic and looked slowly around the room before settling his masked eyes back on Madame HYDRA.
"...but I merely require six-hundred and sixty-six of them to complete this work."
It was half an occult ritual, to imbue the creatures with power, and half a practical army. Nothing could go wrong in this endeavor. For it was not an experiment. It was an execution of a very well performed experiment he had done upon himself many years ago.
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Post by Madame HYDRA on Jun 1, 2017 14:36:55 GMT -5
Viper wasn't surprised that Kroenen seemed disappointed in her choice to keep pursuing a super soldier serum. She remembered six years ago when he proposed his army of soldiers like him, and she had turned him down to favor her research on the Red Skull's pet project. Just thinking about it was shameful. She should have taken him up on the offer. She had never quite forgiven herself for turning him down, but now she had a chance to make that right. Right when it was needed most.
"The formulas are research. Not experiments," she explained. "You saw what's happened to my daughter. She has been imbued with powers I want to understand. It was a result of the tortures of Victor Von Doom." She picked up one of the vials of blood and looked at it. "It was a blend of science and sorcery I don't comprehend. Thus, the research. I don't fully trust my scientists to figure out the secret, but when it comes down to it? It's just chemistry. That I can do."
She set the vial down again and looked at him. "I brought you back for a few reasons. First, because you are the finest scientist I have had the pleasure of knowing, and your knowledge of magic might be the key to cracking this mystery. Second, because I need someone that can watch over Jessica. Someone that can keep up with her, but that can protect her from harm as well."
She was starting to remove her uniform jacket, and unbuttoned her shirt. Underneath was a tight fitting tank top, but it wasn't that she was drawing attention to. There was very little fat on her body anymore, and the muscle definition in her arms and back was clear. She had been changed, likely due to her experiments
"Third, my own experiments need a second opinion. In an effort to understand what has been done to my daughter, I've started to experiment on myself. I can't risk testing here, but I've recorded increased stamina, durability, strength, and reflexes. I haven't tried to test my limits, for fear Jessica might find out what I've done. She'll worry, and I don't want her to until I know for sure how I've changed."
She leaned against the lab table and looked at Kroenen, muscles accentuated in the light, but her eyes were tired. She didn't know how long she had been without sleep, but it was starting to wear on her.
"Fourth, I need a second in command I can trust. Simple as that. I need someone I can put in charge of operations anywhere, and be sure that matters will be attended to with perfection. You are the only person I know capable of that."
With a heavy sigh of exhaustion, she glanced away and looked back at him.
"And finally, yes. I have given your proposal some thought. Over the past six years since you brought it to me. Six hundred and sixty six perfect soldiers, built like you? I should have agreed to it the moment you said it." She nodded her approval of the proposal. "You may have access to as many of our dead as you need, but I have an operation that might prove useful to both of us."
She kicked off of the table and clasped her hands behind her back, taking on a more professional tone. She was Madame HYDRA now, the tiredness gone and replaced with a cold calculative look.
"Word has reached me that there is a village in Germany resisting the transition to Doom's rule. No doubt he will make a personal appearance to terrorize them into joining him. I see this as an opportunity to test out my new abilities and to collect a vast amount of corpses for your purposes. Doom has betrayed me. He has betrayed HYDRA. I will not stand for it. And so, I've decided the best way to get his attention is to attack him personally."
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Post by Kroenen on Jun 1, 2017 15:24:08 GMT -5
Taking all of this information in with motionlessness and the occasional nod of acknowledgment, Kroenen moved toward Madame HYDRA again when she had concluded, standing at attention and looking down at her. Behind his mask, his eyes moved over her body. Any normal man might have been intoxicated by her. She was both formidable and he supposed, by normal perceptions, beautiful. That did not interest him.
Instead, what interested him more was that she was more like him than he had initially given her credit for.
So he had been correct.
She had become her own subject of experimentation.
When she had concluded her speech, Kroenen simply tilted his head at her.
"All enemies of HYDRA must be destroyed," he rasped in agreement, "I shall make certain that this and any commands put before me are completed, Madame."
He then touched a gloved hand to her neck, feeling her pulse.
It was a strong beat. He wondered if the experiments had in any way affected the size of her organs.
A moment later, he realized that no, her heart merely beat stronger. This avoided several complications.
"Pardon me." he said, in a tone of formality as he examined her eyes, holding one open, then the other.
Kroenen had been given his orders, and he recognized her fatigue. She had to be tended to under his care as well as her daughters. Her eyes were tired, but there was nothing unusual about them save for some pupil dilation in the room's light.
He began to assess her bone structure, squeezing on points of her joints in her arms and on her biceps but found that quite impossible. There was no give to be had. Strong as a thick tree branch were her limbs.
"I think perhaps, Madame," he hissed, "That the maintenance of your command and fitness for duty be my highest priority. I cannot be given full command over an organization. A subsection, an army, yes. But I require orders. I cannot conjure those of my own accord without a trajectory. That is not my edict. I must serve. As such, you cannot falter. You must be maintained in order to instruct me. However, as your second in command? This I will carry out for you. But replacing you should you fall is not an option."
He continued examining her, impressed with how a mere serum seemed to have done so much.
"Your facial scars," he asked as he examined her shoulder blades and their rotation, which was more fluid than a normal person, "Have they been affected? Have you noted any wounds taking less time to heal?"
This was all terribly fascinating. Her daughter may be insufferable, but he knew that Madame HYDRA trusted him enough to allow him to work as he would need to.
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